Prof Nagen Saikia presented Pandit KKH AwardStaff Reporter GUWAHATI, July 20 – Renowned orientalist Pandit Krishna Kanta Handique intensely knew the Indian perspective and he studied the different aspects of this outlook extensively. His works are replete with his knowledge of this perception. Because of his familiarity with this view, he could attain the best of the scholarly statures. His works would remain the testimonies of excellence in scholarly pursuits.

This was the observation made by noted writer and former president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha Prof Nagen Saikia in his speech after accepting the Pandit Krishna Kanta Handique Award of the Asam Sahitya Sabha’s Krishna Kanta Handique Sahitya Bata Nyas here this afternoon.

The award has been instituted by the Sabha with the help of a fund donated by the family of the Late Pandit Handique, who was also the founder Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University, besides being a scholar of repute, particularly in matters of study of literature.

Prof Saikia also observed that the tendency of laying stress on parts, rather than the whole, is at the root of the problems the Assamese society is facing at present. This tendency is giving rise to the feeling of alienation among the ethnic groups.

Therefore, he said, it is necessary to study the languages against the backdrop of a total perspective, not otherwise. This will give the idea of the inalienable relations among the peoples of the State on the one hand, and the amount of direct and indirect impacts of the Aryan languages of the country on the regional languages, on the other, he said.

Prof Ranjit Kumar Dev Goswami, who is the president of the Krishna Kanta Handique Sahitya Bata Nyas, described Pandit Krishna Kanta Handique as the best of the 20th century Indian Sanskrit scholars. He was the product of the centuries-old tradition of Sanskrit study in Assam, Prof Dev Goswami said.

Dr Ashok Kumar Goswami, while speaking on Prof Saikia, described him as a true patriot who raised his voice whenever the situation demanded to protect the interest of Assam and its people.

Trust secretary Aholya Gogoi spoke on the trust and the award.

The award was presented to Prof Saikia by Sahitya Sabha president Rongbong Terang who also presided over the function. The award consists of a cash amount of Rs 25,000, a trophy, a citation, a silk cheleng, a bouquet of flower and a packet of the recently published books of the Sahitya Sabha.